Ask a new hire what their first month was like, and you'll usually get one of two answers. Either "it was great, they had everything set up" — or some version of "I figured it out as I went."
Most schools assume they're the first kind, but most new hires say they're the second.
That gap matters more than it looks like it does.
It's not really about the welcome packet
Every school has some version of an onboarding process — a folder of documents, a first-day tour, maybe a buddy teacher. That's not the problem. The problem is what's not written down: how to actually get a visa appointment done, where to find an apartment that isn't a nightmare, whom to ask when something breaks, and nobody answers email in August.
New teachers are usually handling all of this at once — a new job, a new country, sometimes a new language — with no idea yet whom to trust for a straight answer. If the school doesn't proactively hand them that information, they'll get it eventually. Just later, and from whoever happens to be nearby, which is a coin flip on quality.
Why this shows up in retention numbers a year later
A rough first month doesn't usually make someone quit in October. But it sets a tone. Teachers who spend their first weeks scrambling tend to form an early impression that the school doesn't have its act together, or worse, doesn't care much whether they land on their feet. That impression is hard to shake, even once things settle down.
By the time contract renewal season comes around, a lot of that first-month frustration has faded from memory, but the underlying feeling that the school didn't really have their back often hasn't.
What actually closes the gap
Someone assigned to walk a new hire through the practical stuff — banking, SIM cards, the Foreigner's Office — not just point them to a PDF.
Visa guidance that's actually specific to their country of origin, not a generic one-size-fits-all sheet.
A real person to ask when something goes wrong in week two, who responds the same day.
None of this is expensive. It's mostly a matter of someone owning it, rather than assuming it'll sort itself out.
If you're not sure which version of onboarding your new hires actually experience, that's worth finding out directly from them — please get in touch and we can discuss how to best meet your needs.